


That Idiot

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Gratsu [80]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Blood and Injury, Established Relationship, Going off alone, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Serious Injuries, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25385581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Gray just knew that Natsu was in the middle of whatever was happening, wondering not for the first time how it was that his boyfriend managed to find himself in the middle of the worst of the chaos every single time. Of course, Natsu didn’t help matters by rushing off on his own to face things, and Gray and the others had been more frustrated than worried when they’d regrouped and turned around to find that the idiot had disappeared. At least until the building had started shaking, rocks and dust falling from the crumbling ceiling.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster
Series: Gratsu [80]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1188718
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42
Collections: Gratsu Week 2020





	That Idiot

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord [The Unholy Trinity](https://discord.gg/6sSddAWa5c).

Gray cursed as he felt the entire building shake again, stumbling as the floor cracked and broke under his feet, sending him stumbling into the wall. Above him Happy halted, swerving out of the way of some rocks that came away from the ceiling. _Natsu…_ He just knew that Natsu was in the middle of whatever was happening above them, wondering not for the first time how it was that his boyfriend managed to find himself in the middle of the worst of the chaos every single time. It was like there was a huge target painted on the Dragon-slayer’s back, that had the whole world trying to throw things at him. Of course, Natsu didn’t help matters by rushing off on his own to face things, and Gray and the others had been more frustrated than worried when they’d regrouped and turned around to find that the idiot had disappeared. At least until the building had started shaking, rocks and dust falling from the crumbling ceiling, forcing them to scatter as it had collapsed on them, then the irritation had given way to concern, and as the shaking intensified it was quickly become closer to fear.

Gray was going to kill Natsu when he found him, once he was sure he was in one piece...

Erza and the others were searching the other side of the what he was sure had once been a magnificent mansion, rivalling Lucy’s childhood home for size, but was now a dilapidated building that was going to be lucky if it was still standing after this. While he and Happy took the other and considering that the shaking seemed to be intensifying with every step they took, Gray had a feeling that they were heading in the right direction. Maybe Natsu was rubbing off on him he thought darkly, as he straightened again, wincing as he realised one of the falling rocks had caught him, leaving a gash on his arms and he iced it quickly before looking up at Happy. “Let’s keep going before this place comes down on us.”

“Aye Sir!”

It seemed to take forever to work their way along the first floor, checking every room just to be safe and having to pause more than once as the shaking, and what they could now make out as muffled explosions threatened to bring more of the house down on them. At one point, Gray had to throw up ice to support the ceiling as a huge chunk complete with a chandelier gave me, nearly catching Happy, and showering them both with dust and shattered glass before they managed to get out of the way. Gray hoped that no one was left alive to sue them for the damage that was being done. Especially as he was reasonably sure they weren’t going to be getting any kind of reward for this ‘job’ as he’d seen Lucy take out their employer in the earlier fighting. They really needed to start getting paid upfront he thought with a grimace, as the building rocked again, that way when Natsu destroyed the place they could just get the hell out of there.

“Gray!” Happy’s alarmed cry forced him back to the present, and he realised that the Exceed had moved ahead and was hovering, staring at something on the wall with wide eyes. Casting a wary eye at the ceiling, Gray moved to join him, and his heart sank as he caught the hand-shaped smear of blood on what he suspected had been cream wallpaper originally and was now closer to grey. As though someone had been pressing on an injury and had to reach out to steady themselves.

“That idiot…” There was nothing to say that it was Natsu’s, and they had no idea who was still running around the house apart from them, and yet Gray knew in his heart of hearts that they weren’t that lucky. _I am definitely going to kill him,_ he thought with a scowl, trying to clear his expression a little as he looked up at the worried Exceed. “Don’t worry, Happy, we’ll find him.” _I just don’t know in what state,_ he added silently, glad that he hadn’t voiced it aloud as Happy had relaxed a little at his words, trusting him, and Gray tried to ignore the small voice that was laughing at his optimism in the back of his mind.

They were moving a little faster now, a fresh urgency in their efforts, but it was still taking too long. Especially, as the shaking was becoming more intense, and they were both covered in dust-coated scrapes and bruises from where more and more of the ceiling and even the walls were coming down on them. _Natsu, please don’t bring the house down on our heads._ They were on the stairway between the second and third floor, Happy forced to carry the Ice Mage past the gaps in the stairs caused by falling debris when they finally heard Natsu.

He was screaming.

Gray had heard Natsu shouting in pain before, but he’d never heard this particular note of agony in his boyfriend’s voice, audible even at this distance, and he felt the colour drain from his face at the sound, and Happy almost dropped him. “Natsu!” The Exceed shouted, but if Natsu heard them, he didn’t reply, or maybe he wasn’t able to, as his scream rose…broke as though his voice or worse had given out on him, and then fell into silence.

“Natsu…” Gray whispered. “Happy get us up there!”

The sudden shift in speed had his stomach rolling, as Happy not only blasted them up the last of the stairwell but kept going as they hit the next floor. Flying close to the ceiling despite the threat of collapse, although thought his panic Gray noticed that the shaking was abating, an eerie quiet creeping through the house.

_Natsu._

Now there were more signs that Natsu had been this way, another smear of blood – larger this time – on one wall, a pair of crumpled mages that didn’t even stir as the pair shot past, and more than a dozen scorch marks and larger burned sections, as though the fight had passed all along the corridor. They didn’t need to check the rooms now, following the trail of destruction until up ahead they finally spotted the remains of double doors that had clearly been blasted open with great force, the wood still smouldering in places, filling the air with smoke. “Put me down Happy,” he ordered, and the Exceed obeyed setting him down a short distance from the door. Gray immediately moved forward, one hand pressed to his mouth as protection against the lingering smoke, eyes constantly moving as he strained to hear anything from the room beyond.

Nothing stirred as they reached the doorway, Happy flying just behind Gray and uncharacteristically quiet. The whole place felt as though it was holding its breath now, and Gray didn’t like it, lowering his hand and holding both hands closed together, braced for an attack as he took one step into the room, and then another and another. Nothing moved, and as he got his first good look at what must have been a dining room or maybe even a ballroom in the building’s heyday, Gray found himself freezing in place, a strangled noise rising in his throat. Destruction was always something that he’d associated with Natsu. It was impossible not to after so many years of seeing what the Dragon-slayer was capable of, and the list of the repairs to the guild that were attributed to his boyfriend. And after the shaking and collapsing walls and ceilings, he had been braced for that here.

But not like this.

The entire room looked as though it had been caught in the grips of a raging inferno, what window had remained, mostly boarded up had been blasted outwards, allowing sunlight to cast an unrelenting light on the devastation in the room. The walls were cracked, paint and wallpaper peeling away and filling the air hear with a dull shower of ash, and in several places, the walls were dented, or held outright craters, as though someone or something had been smashed into them over and over again. Several pillars, more for ornamentation than anything was tilted and cracked, while one of them had splintered completely, covering the ground in rubble. And there amongst the rubble, sprawled at the edge of a large hole in the floor, he saw a flash of pink.

“Natsu…” Forgetting that they might not be alone, not caring that the entire floor looked like it might cave in at any moment, Gray rushed forward. He had to skirt the hole, faltering for a second as he spied something dark and viscous dripping from the edge of several floorboards protruding into the gap, before pushing on, eyes locked on the still form of the Dragon-slayer. “NATSU!” He called, lurching as the floor shifted beneath him and moving faster. There was no movement from Natsu, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears.

_Idiot, don’t you do this too me._

Reaching Natsu, he eyed the edge of the hole that loomed far too close. If Natsu moved unexpectedly… cautiously he reached out and gripped the Dragon-slayer’s clothes, terrified that he was going to cause more damage, but knowing that a fall would do far worse, he slowly, carefully eased Natsu away from the edge. Trying not to focus on the blood he could feel on his hands, or the way that the Dragon-slayer was like dead weight, unmoving and unresponsive as he was moved onto slightly sturdier ground. “Natsu!” He tried again even as he moved the Dragon-slayer, but it still didn’t elicit a response from his partner.

“Is he…?” Happy asked uncertainly, landing on the other side of Natsu, looking as though he wasn’t sure that he wanted the answer to the question he hadn’t been able to finish. Gray wasn’t sure he wanted it either, but he forced himself to reach out again with now bloodied fingers, fumbling for a pulse even as he rested his other hand on Natsu’s chest… it rose and fell raggedly, and there beneath his searching fingers, he felt the Dragon-slayer’s pulse, not as strong as he would like but there.

“He’s alive.” It wasn’t until he said it that Gray realised how terrified he’d been that they were too late, releasing his breath in a rush and glad that he was knelt next to Natsu as his legs felt like jelly. _He’s alive,_ he took another shuddering breath, fingers curling against Natsu’s chest. _He’s alive._ He let himself have a moment just to let that sink in, hearing Happy sniffling in his relief and almost wishing that he could join him, but now that he knew Natsu was alive, he couldn’t avoid looking at the damage his Dragon-slayer had taken.

Huge gashes marred the Dragon-slayer’s torso and arms, as though he had thrown them up in a desperate attempt to defend himself, his clothes and skin in tatters. The only thing that was untouched, but in desperate need of a wash was his scarf, which was filthy with dirt and ash and worse, and something unpleasant settled in the pit of Gray’s stomach at the sight. _What did this?_ There was no sign of what Natsu had been fighting, and the thought of whatever could have reduced Natsu to this state, who could have made the Dragon-slayer scream like that, running around the house made him uneasy, and he hoped that the others had stayed together.

“Natsu,” he tried again, this time lightly tapping Natsu’s cheek to try and rouse him. However, spying the bloody cut nestled amongst the pink hair, he had a feeling that it was going to be a lost cause, and he had a sinking feeling that it was Natsu rather than his opponent who had been thrown into the walls and pillars. Which left him with another dilemma. Did he wait here for the others to find them, and hope that whoever or whatever had done this didn’t return? Send Happy to fetch them? Or did he try and move Natsu? He could get Happy to carry him and leave his hands free for defence, but he was worried what moving him would do to Natsu’s injuries, especially the damage that he knew had to lay beneath the surface.

“Gray? What should…?” Happy trailed off, and the Ice Mage looked at him with a frown and then realised why the Exceed had fallen silent as the floor beneath them quivered. It was mild compared to the other shaking, and there was a rhythm to it.

As though something was moving towards them…

He glanced towards the hole, desperately hoping that it was nothing, just the house settling after the commotion or even threatening to collapse further as that was a danger he could counter against.

The hole stared back.

Or something did, a large, black-rimmed golden eye peering back at him through the gap. As Gray met its gaze, it blinked, and there was intelligence in that gaze. The kind that had Gray’s blood turning to ice, especially as it was paired with a malevolence that immediately had him trying to pull Natsu further from the hole. Which turned out to be a wise decision, as a large scaled foot, with hooked claws, caught the edge of the hole, leaving gouges in the wood before it was torn away widening the hole. “Happy! Get Natsu out of here!” Gray shouted, praying that it wasn’t going to make the Dragon-slayer’s injuries worse, but knowing that they were out of options. Happy must’ve realised the same because he didn’t protest, grabbing hold of Natsu and shooting towards the nearest window, the Dragon-slayer limp beneath him.

Gray didn’t have time to make sure they’d made it, because the eye had immediately traced the movement and seeing the intent in its gaze, he’d slapped both hands down on the floor at his feet, right into a pool of Natsu’s blood, his heart hammering in his chest. _Please._ The blood froze, tinging his ice red as it spread out around him. Veins of it colouring the ice that raced across the floor and out into the space above the hole. Now he heard the creature as it snarled at him, as his ice froze the foot that had risen once more, locking it in place, as his magic spread until the entire floor was frozen and the hole was covered. It wouldn’t hold it for long, already cracking as it tugged and pulled at its trapped foot shifting until he had a fleeting impression of a great, furred muzzle for a moment, before a second eye came into sight, both locked on him and furious.

 _Who’s the idiot now?_ He asked himself now, acutely aware that he was on his own and outmatched. If Natsu hadn’t been enough to take this down on his own, even if he had been injured beforehand, then what chance did he stand? He backed away, towards the windows, watching as the cracks continued to spread. He wanted to pour more magic into the floor, but at the same time, he knew he was going to need every bit of magic he could squeeze out, or rather when it got through. Maybe he could jump out the window? But they were on the third floor, or maybe the fourth, and he didn’t fancy that drop, although as another snarl rang out, louder this time so that the entire ice floor vibrated with it, he thought that maybe it was the lesser of two evils.

_At least Natsu got out. Although he’s going to kill me for this, and call me much worse than an idiot…_


End file.
